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In [[psychoanalysis]], the term "stratification" refers to the layers of ideation constructed by the [[psyche]]. In <i>Studies on [[Hysteria]]</i> (1895d), [[Freud ]] noted, "Thus it came [[about ]] that in this, the first [[full]]-length [[analysis ]] of a hysteria undertaken by me, I arrived at a procedure which I later developed into a regular method and employed deliberately. This procedure was one of clearing away the pathogenic [[psychical ]] [[material ]] layer by layer, and we liked to compare it with the [[technique ]] of excavating a buried city" (p. 139).Exploring the theme in greater detail in the chapter entitled "The [[Psychotherapy ]] of Hysteria," he stated that his aim was a "dynamics of ideation" (p. 287). "The psychical material," he explained, "presents itself as a [[structure ]] in several dimensions which is stratified in at least [[three ]] different ways" (p. 288). First is a reverse linear [[chronology]], "as though we were examining a dossier that had been kept in [[good ]] [[order]]" (p. 288). Second is a concentric stratification around the pathogenic nucleus, where [[resistance ]] increases as one gets closer to the nucleus. Here the strata [[represent ]] zones of "an equal degree of modification of [[consciousness]]" (p. 289). Finally, there is [[dynamic ]] stratification, which follows [[thought ]] [[contents]]. Dynamic stratification is revealed by trajectories that zigzag from the surface down into the deep strata and back up again, passing through all levels and convergent nexuses of [[communication]]. The [[overdetermination ]] of [[symptoms ]] results from this type of stratification.The problem of the stratification of the psyche, and thus of a "dynamics of ideation," remained a constant preoccupation for Freud from then on. Indeed, psychoanalysis itself can be characterized as a [[psychology ]] of depths. To explore these depths of the psyche, Freud developed topographies in writings spanning from <i>The [[Interpretation ]] of [[Dreams]]</i> (1900a) through "[[Splitting ]] of the Ego in the [[Process ]] of [[Defence]]" (1940e [1938]). But the topographies were not enough. Freud also posited different temporalities within the psyche, such as the [[atemporality ]] of the [[unconscious]]. Also playing a part in Freud's elaboration of the structure of the psyche were phylogenetic traces of an archaic heritage, [[fixation]], [[regression]], and the [[life ]] and [[death ]] [[instincts]]. Described in "The Ego and [[the Id]]" (1923b) as the "precipitate of abandoned [[object ]] [[cathexes]]" (p. 29), the ego too exhibits considerable stratification. What happens at the boundaries between the various strata and among the [[agencies ]] of the [[mind ]] can also be characterized as strata dynamics.In [[mathematics]], a stratified set is made by stitching together varieties of different dimensions. Catastrophe [[theory ]] sheds light on the dynamics capable of generating these stratifications and on modes of passage from one stratum to [[another]]. This could be an outstanding tool for linking together the questions raised by Freud.

# [[Freud, Sigmund]]. (1900a). The [[interpretation of dreams]]. SE, 4: 1-338]]